When Snowflakes Fall
by TwilightCharmedFaie
Summary: Rose had only been two when Harry died, so she barely remembered him. Only snatches of memories fluttered through her mind – laughter, smiles, hugs, stories… Rose Potter looks through a scrapbook during Christmas.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own HP, JKR does… etc. Quotes sighted at the end. This was original written with pages of a scrapbook throughout, but I can't have any pictures! Please use you imagination if you're confused! And PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! love, glPiItTtAer

**When Snowflakes Fall**

Rose was sitting on the window seat, curled up with a blanket and a pillow. Gazing out the window, she thought about all things in life – from her friends, to her family, to her need to fit in. Snow falling from the sky always did that to her; always.

Snowflakes whirled and twirled in the wind, fluttering slowly and mournfully on a winding path that led to the ground, dropping gracefully in delicate heaps. Rose and her older brother Sirius were on Winter Holiday, which was always a sad time of year for her family. Since her father died ten years ago, things had never been the same. Her mother had been heartbroken and sad for all those long years, and often at night Rose could hear her sobbing herself to sleep.

Rose had only been two when Harry died, so she barely remembered him. Only snatches of memories fluttered through her mind – laughter, smiles, hugs, stories… Her father had loved her and been a wonderful man. Sirius had more and clearer memories as he had been four, but both children really didn't remember their father.

Ginny tried to tell them stories and describe their father to them throughout their lives. She told them of schooldays, made scrapbooks, took them on pensieve adventures in her pensieve or Harry's… Ginny had gone so far as to take pictures OF pensieve memories for the scrapbooks, desperate to portray a father to her children.

Rose could see the largest scrapbook sitting on the sofa now. She stood up and picked it up, returning to her snug window seat cocoon. "The Potter Scrapbook" it was titled, "By Ginny Potter". Rose felt a flitting smile pass over her face. Her mother had always been spunky and creative, although this title certainly lacked all creativity she usually showed.

Glancing back at the snow outside, Rose sighed. She opened the book and started flipping through the faded pages; her grandparents, Lily and James, were featured first.

Rose's mum always smiled when she told the stories of Lily and James and their love story. James came down to earth and Lily's hate turned to love. Rose was named Rose Lily Potter in memory of my grandmother whom she closely resembled. Her emerald eyes came from dad's side, and her red hair came from both sides of the family…

Rose's father's baby picture was the last from among his youth as he had been shipped off to the Dursley's. Whenever Mum saw it she would break down sobbing and leave the room. Rose felt tears now slipping down her own cheeks – the Potters looked like such a happy family laughing and hugging and kissing. The Prophecy really ruined everyone's life – stupid Trelawny…

Now she had reached pages of her Dad and his friends. Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron looked so different then they did now… Rose wondered what Dad would have looked like if he ever had the chance to grow old…

The smiles on their faces made her smile; Rose had her own faithful group of friends at Hogwarts. It was tough to be a Potter, it really was. Although she wasn't Harry herself, she was Harry's daughter – the man who saved the world.

_Three people appeared out of nowhere and a cloak fell to the ground. Hermione started to dance._

"_Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"_

"_Don't," Harry told her._

_The three friends stood there waiting with a dragon in the astronomy tower for Charlie Weasley and friends to_ _arrive..._

Rose jerked out of a memory she had viewed in Harry's pensieve and kept turning the pages.

_The three friends were going down to lunch, Hermione was showing Harry and Ron her handful of perfect coat buttons she had transfigured in class…_

"_What've we got this afternoon? Harry butted in quickly, obviously keen to change topics,_

"_Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione knew at once._

"_Why," Ron grabbed her schedule, "have you outlined all Lockhart's lessons in little hearts?"_

The memory Ginny so loved to tell Sirius and Rose trailed off…

_Hagrid was crying about Buckbeak's execution. He ran back into his cabin, sobbing into his handkerchief._

"_Look at him blubber!"_

_Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were all eavesdropping_

"_Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic?" said Malfoy. "And he's supposed to be out teacher!"_

_Harry and Ron started at Malfoy, but Hermione got to him first, landing a harsh slap across his face. Malfoy staggered backward as everyone else stared at the two, shocked._

"_Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul – you evil –"_

"_Hermione!" Ron attempted to grab her hand and pull her back, failing miserably._

"_Get off, Ron!"_

_She pulled out her wand and the three Slytherins, terrified, ran off._

Rose's spirits lifted as she thought of the smile that always crossed her mother's face as she told of Hermione punching Malfoy.

_Hermione questioned, "Did you get all this from the kitchens, Fred?"_

"_Yep," Fred grinned. He mimicked a house elves high pitched voice, "'Anything we can get you, sir, anything at all!' They're dead helpful… get me a roast ox if I said I was puckish."_

"_How do you get in there?" Hermione asked casually._

"_Easy," Fred said, "concealed door behind a painted of a bowl and fruit. Just tickle the pear, and it giggles and – " He suddenly looked suspicious. "Why?"_

"_Nothing."_

"_Going to try and lead the house-elves on strike now, are you? Said George. "Going to give up all the leaflet stuff and try to stir them up into rebellion?"_

_Many students laughed._

"_Don't you go upsetting them and telling them they've got to take clothes and salaries!" said Fred warningly. "You'll put them off their cooking!"_

Rose smiled at Ginny's funny memory. Typical Aunt Hermione, wanting to protect the rights of all magical creatures…

Turning the page, Rose found the section that made her feel more like her dad than sharing the same eye color; quidditch. She loved playing seeker, and she was almost as good as her Dad. Everyone said so.

_"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood – I've found you a Seeker." McGonagall said._

_Wood suddenly looked thrilled._

"_Are you serious, Proffesor?"_

"_Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?"_

_Harry nodded._

"_He caught that thing in his hand oafter a fifty-foot dive," said McGonagall. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."_

_Wood looked estatic._

Rose's mum, of course, was still an excellent seeker and chaser. She would play with Sirius, the cousins and Rose sometimes. But she was never as good as Rose's dad. Yet, Rose could still say that she got her sporting skills from both sides of the family…

Oh! The Quidditch World Cup! Rose loves the memories Mum has shared with Sirius and her… it was such an exciting event that year. Ireland won but Krum caught the snitch! And then there was that whole event with the Death Eaters…

_"Ireland wins!" Bagman was shouting, shocked, "Krum gets the snitch – but Ireland wins – good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"_

Even more exciting was that Harry had been the fourth champion in the Triwizard Tournament. A shocking and dangerous surprise all at once. Yet, he had survived the tournament, a confrontation with Voldemort, and he had won…

Now Rose found several pictures of her mother. This was one of Rose's favorite twists about the scrapbook, since the book mostly featured Harry, and she was always curious about her mother's youth as well. As she flipped through pages of pictures of her mother, she remembered a series of events her mother had told her about through the years – all huge events to Ginny, yet some were small to possible onlookers…

_At that moment there was a diversion in the form of a small, redheaded figure in a long nightdress, who appeared in the kitchen, gave a small squeal, and ran out again._

"_Ginny," said Ron in an undertone to Harry. "My sister. She's been talking about you all summer."_

"_Yah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry," Fred said with a grin, but he caught his mother's eye and bent his face over his plate without another word. _

Rose laughed as she thought about the memory of her mother's huge crush on her father, to the point that she was painfully shy and almost terrified of him for almost a year or two…

_"Ginny!"_

_It was Mrs. Weasley, who had been sitting crying in front of the fire. She leapt to her feat, closely followed by Mr. Weasley, and both of them flung themselves on their daughter…_

"_You saved her! You saved her! How did you do it?" _

Rose loved the story of how Harry had saved Ginny in their second and first years, respectively. It was so romantic and so… well – it was the perfect fairy tale!

Rose smiled as she thought about the triwizard tournament fourth year once more, and how her mother had finally become more confident in front of her father as he developed a crush on Cho Chang and she moved on. Actually, she even went to the Yule Ball with Neville Longbottom. Rose found a pages Ginny must have just added with a picture of herself on each in her gown, gossiping with friends, and dancing with Neville. She giggled as she looked at the pained expression her mother made as Neville stepped on her feet…

Rose found a page of the Yule Ball again after that. This page featured Harry and his friends, as well as some staff members. Rose always laughed when she saw her headmistresses dancing on the page of the scrapbook.

_"Come on!" Parvati hissed. "We're supposed to dance!"_

_Harry tripped over his dress robes as he stood up. The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune; Harry walked on to the brightly lit dance floor, carefully avoiding catching anyone's eyes (he could see Seamus and Dean waving at him and sniggering), and next moment, Parvati had seized his hands, placed one around her waist, and was holding the other tightly in hers._

_It wasn't as bad as it could have been, Harry thought, revolving slowly on the spot (Parvati was steering). He kept his eyes fixed over the heads of the watching people, and very soon many of them too had come into the dance floor, so that the champions were no longer the center of attention. Neville and Ginny were dancing nearby – he could see Ginny wincing frequently as Neville trod on her feet – and Dumbledore was waltzing with Madame Maxime. He was so dwarfed by her that the top of his pointed hat barely tickled her chin; however, she moved very gracefully for a woman so large. Mad-Eye Moody was doing an extremely ungainly two-step with Professor Sinistra, who was nervously avoiding his wooden leg._

Rose wished that Hogwarts would have another ball filled with more funny memories, but she suspected they wouldn't be having one again soon, and most certainly not during her time at Hogwarts…

Now she came upon pages that said "Friends through the Years" and showed pictures of not just the trio, but other friends too.

Tears started pouring down her face as it finally dawned on her after all her years (okay, she was only thirteen) that not only had she lost a father, but many people had lost a wonderful friend.

Rose's sobs intensified as she reached a picture of the dark mark in the sky. For some unknown reason, Ginny had felt compelled to put this in every scrapbook she had ever made. It was like she was explaining Harry's death to herself, making excuses for why he was gone. Reassuring herself that he was somewhere better

Rose heard a knock on the front door and knew her Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron had arrived with the cousins for Christmas Dinner. They didn't know about the scrapbooks, so it would be best to put it away.

As Rose closed this scrapbook her mother had made of her parents, mainly Harry's, first few years at Hogwarts, a loose picture fell out.

It was a picture her mother had randomly stuck between the pages for safe keeping – a picture of the Weasley's trip to Egypt.

Ginny particularly hated that picture because Percy and Peter Pettigrew were in it – well, Peter the mouse.

Rose looked at it anyway, because it showed a happy family at the time, permanently frozen, forever waiving from the picture at whoever was watching – a whole happy family. A family that the current Potter family could never be.

**Quotes from: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone pg. 241, pg. 151; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets pg. 95, pg. 35, pg. 327; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban pg. 293; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire pg.366-7, pg. 113-4, pg. 419-20 ALL BOOKS BY JK ROWLING**


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